Pōkaʻī Bay Beach Park — Attraction in Oʻahu

One of the best beaches on the Waianae Coast for protected ocean swimming for families and children. There are large grassy areas for picnicking and a children's playground for young children. Lifeguard on duty. There is no food or water for sale at the beach park, so pack a picnic lunch or bring food with you. There are several fast food restaurants within walking distance, including Jack in the Box, L & L Hawaiian Barbecue, and a Chinese restaurant that sells local plate lunches. Kuilioloa Heiau is a Native Hawaiian cultural site that is on a small peninsula at Pokai Bay. It is considered disrepectful to walk on top of the heiau, but the view of the ocean and mountains from the heiau is spectacular and great for photos. The water at Pokai Bay is very calm, but the water is not as shallow as it appears and gets deeper pretty fast from the sandy beach, so be careful with very small children. One word of caution: There is a growing population of homeless individuals who live at the beach on the side away from the sandy area and sometimes close to the base of the heiau. Just be aware of where you are walking, and leave the beach park...

The scenery is wonderful and there's a ton of room on the beach or grass. We saw several Honu (sea turtles). Parking can be tricky, so get there early or be prepared to circle the lots. We spent a couple hours with our inflatable paddle boards and ate some food under a tree. There were a lot of families enjoying food and music. Definitely a place you can bring children to. There are signs saying no animals allowed and no parking on the grass. Open fires and alcohol are also prohibited. Near the buoys, the water is very calm and great for relaxing on floaties. There's a designated swimming area, inside the rock wall. Many people were fishing. The permanent public restrooms were closed and portable potties were there. They had run out of toilet paper. There were trash cans and a lifeguard shack. While we were there, a water safety patrol boat came through. There was a BBQ truck and another selling fruit drinks, though they might not always be there. From Ewa Beach, it's about a 45...

Pokai Bay is the perfect beach for little ones & beginner swimmers. There is a lot space for many families to set up and enjoy. The water is also clean. I can only compare Hawaii’s beaches to California and one thing I was aware of during my time here in Hawaii was how clean the beaches are. Both in the water and on shore. No sea weed or random litter swimming along side of you. Now it’s not as crystal clear as other beaches in Hawaii but it’s still a great place to swim. The offshore park area itself, near the restroom and areas that are not near the beach is pretty dry. No grass at all, so if you wanted to play games there you would have a hard time. There are showers and a big bathroom. Bathrooms are what you would expect at a park. There are homeless set ups near the park, but if you leave them alone, they will do the same. We didn’t have any issues with the homeless community here.

Overall great beach! We will be back when we...